Elements of Faith – The Fire of God

Elements of Faith – The Fire of God

“and to the messengers, indeed, He says,
“The [One] who is making* His messengers spirits,
and His ministers a flame of fire”
Hebrews 1:7 (LSV)

Fire is essential in those who would minister before the Lord. Faith is the means by which all that is of God becomes the truth of His life within us. The scriptures testify:

“For our God is a consuming fire”
Hebrews 12:29

Those in whom He dwells are conscious of a fire not of their own making (unlike Hophni and Phineas). Fire is the very nature of God and all who dwell in heavenly places burn with that fire. In the original language, the Seraphim mentioned in Isaiah 6 are called “fiery ones”. They are at home in His presence because they are of the same fire.

Nature is the determining factor of a relationship. Jesus did not come to bring us a new teaching. He came to purify our hearts by His own blood with the intent that His Nature and substance could be infused into our fallen humanity. As wonderful as it was that He walked this earth as a man, it was necessary for Him to go away so that He could come and dwell in us through the conduit of faith.

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you”
John 16:7

The New Testament declares emphatically that the only hope for man is “Christ IN YOU,” the hope of glory. Faith is the means of our transformation. Faith frees us from apathy, discouragement, and, most of all, the deception of trusting in a religious belief. This hope, our hope, is in the power of a living, indwelling Christ, the One who is making us to be flaming ministrations of Him.

“For in Him dwelleth
all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”
Colossians 2:9

The fulness of God dwelt (Greek reads “tabernacled”) in Christ, and He has purposed to bring us to the same fulness of the nature and wonder of the Father. Too often, we relegate these things to some future time and disregard our utter need to pursue this fullness here and now. It is unbelief to declare we believe the Word of God yet deny its very call and purpose. Let the Word of God be what determines our faith, not our experience!

“And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
Ephesians 3:19

This has been a life verse to me for many years, but it was only recently that the power of it hit me in a new way. “To know the love of Christ” is the fire and the impetus to pursue this unfathomable call. In our knowledge of Him and His nature, we can begin to grasp this Love that motivated the Father to send the Son on our behalf. John 3:16 declares that the motive of God is to bring us to Himself! His desire is to bring us into a relationship by imparting His own divinity into our corruption. He became sin, so we might become the righteousness of God!

“And to know the love of Christ…”

The fullness of God is unattainable if I have unforgiveness, if I slander, treat others with malice (openly or in secret), or withhold the truth from those who walk in such evil things. The “Love of Christ” is a fire that frees us from the fear of men and allows us to minister truth. If we compromise the truth to fit into the ways and friendship of men, we “hold the truth in unrighteousness.” By doing so, we value men’s approval more than God’s approval.

The love of God is a fire, and we need look no further than the early days of the Church. God struck Ananias and Saphira dead for their pretense. Failure to walk by the rule of His fire within will disqualify us from His fullness.

The mystery and wonder of faith result in God’s fire becoming His signature and seal in a life. It takes little discernment to touch the temperature of God’s fire in another. His fire in one heart bears witness to its verity in another. It is this fire that ignites fellowship between His own.

“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light,
we have fellowship one with another…”
1 John 1:7

*Note: The literal translation of this scripture is filled with great hope by which our pursuit of Him is strengthened.

“The [One] who is making* His messengers spirits,
and His ministers a flame of fire”

Let our hearts be encouraged by the tense of the word “making,” which speaks to us of the ongoing work of God in our hearts! It is our growing relationship with Him, whereby His fire consumes and frees us from all that would hinder us. Compromise is the great enemy of our soul.

The fire of God is just that; it is not the fire of men. It is His fire and cannot be known apart from Him. He is the flame and the more He dwells within us and us with Him, the stronger and purer it burns.

Let His Word penetrate our hearts.

“who is making… His ministers a flame of fire”

Any minister who knows this becoming “a flame of (God’s) fire” is blessed. May we measure our life by the holy flame which burns within and not by the knowledge or the associations we hold.

“Behold! Jehovah your God has made us see His glory and His greatness to us, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man, and he lives.”
Deuteronomy 5:24

Links to the other writings in this series:

Elements of Faith – The Mystery

Elements of Faith – The Wonder

Elements of Faith – Conversion

Elements of Faith – The Brands of Christ

Brian Troxel